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TRUTH 

and 

FACTS 

Pertaining to 

Spiritualism 

By 

J. Frances Reed 



1911 



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INDEX. 

Introduction 7 

Preface 9 

Spiritualism — Its Origin and Its Curses . 11 

Spirit Rappings 15 

Trance Mediums 18 

Clairvoyance and Clairaudiance 20 

Keeler 's Test Seance 24 

How They Secure Their Information, or 

The Medium's Dope Book 27 

An Extract From a Medium's Dope Book 30 

Message and Ballot Test or Seance 33 

Materialization 37 

Trumpet Seance 46 

Slate Writings 53 

Magnetic Healing 59 

Spirit Paintings 61 

Philosophy of Spiritualism 63 

Spiritualism as a Religion 67 

Experiences of the Author 71 

How the Author Gave a Seance Under a 

Severe Test 77 

Closing Remarks by the Author 89 



INTRODUCTION. 

This book is a guide to all physical demon- 
strations performed by all the leading medi- 
ums of the world, and by following closely 
the instructions in this book, you will be- 
come acquainted with the facts pertaining 
to all physical demonstrations as performed 
by these so-called mediums, and by a little 
practice, plenty of nerve and very little con- 
science you will be capable of performing 
these same manifestations, some of which 
the reader will find so simple that it seems 
almost impossible that the public can be so 
easily fooled. 

This book is a complete expose of medi- 
umship as practiced by 
THE FOX SISTERS, HOWE, SLADE, 
KEELER, EVANS, MOORE, JOHNSON, 
KELLOGG, REYNOLDS, CARROLL, 
KELLAR 
and many others of equal fame. 



The author challenges any of the above 
so-called mediums to produce any physical 
demonstration which is not produced by 
human agency and which the author will 
produce under the same conditions. This 
challenge is also open to any so-called me- 
dium of the world. 



PREFACE. 

In presenting this book to the world the 
author wishes to atone for the many wrongs 
he has practiced upon the public; and it is 
my desire to expose to the world the under- 
handed methods that are used by these so- 
called mediums. 

The author sincerely hopes that this book 
will enlighten the world as to these mystify- 
ing demonstrations, and sincerely hopes 
that it will be a benefit to all mankind seek- 
ing the truth of Spiritualism. 

THE AUTHOR. 



SPIRITUALISM— ITS ORIGIN AND ITS 
CURSES. 

In the year 1848 the world was astonished 
by the claims made by the FOX SISTERS 
of Rochester, N. Y., that they were able by 
a new-found power to communicate with the 
SPIRIT WORLD by the method of spirit 
rappings. Since that time numerous seem- 
ingly mysterious physiological occurrences 
and supernatural incidents of wizard mani- 
festations have taken place, and as it is an 
undeniable fact that every ordinary mind is 
superstitious and craves for something as- 
tounding and mystifying, is it any wonder 
that Spiritualism is gaining favor every 
year, as they claim they prove beyond a 
doubt of life beyond the grave? You will 
find among their ranks college professors, 
students, scientists and some of the highest 
men of intellect. It may seem astonishing 
that these bright men could be so easily 



12 TEUTH AND FACTS 

fooled and converted to spiritualism, but 
the more progressive the individual, the 
more readily he adapts himself to solve some 
mystery, and if he is unsuccessful in solving 
same, he is ready to accept it for the truth; 
hence it is easier to fool a wise man than it 
is to fool a fool, and today there is through- 
out the world many of these so-called medi- 
ums who are imposing on the public — some 
of them who are so low and degrading that 
they will employ any means to take advan- 
tage of you. The author knows of several 
incidents where people have lost all of their 
earthly possessions through these arch- 
grafters. Many a widow has lost her home, 
thinking she was taking the advice of her 
departed husband in making an investment, 
while this advice was only the advice of the 
medium, who would derive the benefit of her 
misfortune. Many happy couples have been 
separated and many minds have been weak- 
ened through this so-called ' ' religion. ' ' The 
author has never taken more than a normal 
fee for his services, and the only wrong that 
he has ever done was to practice these 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 13 

phases of mediumship upon the public, 
which he is making amends for now. 

These mediums will tell you that they can 
reveal the future, give you advice in regards 
to investments, find hidden treasures, ad- 
vise you in love affairs or anything else that 
the public wishes to pay for. Some of them 
claim to heal and cure the sick and do many 
other miraculous feats. They tell you by 
the most convincing argument at their com- 
mand that nothing dies and that the spirit 
merely leaves the body and that through 
their wonderful mediumship they can 
bring back these disembodied spirits on the 
earth plane again in material form if given 
the proper conditions — conditions being a 
word used by all mediums to overcome all 
obstacles that might prevent them from 
demonstrating their wonderful power, and 
if you should ask one of these so-called medi- 
ums why it requires darkness or semi-light 
to get the desired results, he will very read- 
ily tell you that everything grows in the 
dark. They will also tell you it is for this 
same reason that a photographer has to de- 



14 TRUTH AND FACTS 

velop his plates in the dark, and that it re- 
quires conditions to produce any and all 
things. This being very logical, the medium 
always has at his command an excuse for 
any test that would prohibit him from show- 
ing his marvelous powers, and the reader 
will see on the following pages what a great 
factor these conditions are. They will tell 
you that those who understand the laws and 
control the means are able to give these 
demonstrations. This is quite true, gentle 
reader, and that is the object of this book, 
which will show you the laws and how to 
control the means as controlled by these 
fakirs. 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 15 



SPIRIT RAPPINGS. 

Starting with the first of these physical 
demonstrations, which was the Fox Sisters' 
manifestation, the author will explain the 
methods used by them to produce these raps. 
They used an ordinary dining-room or par- 
lor table in what was known as their " rap- 
ping seance." There are several ways of 
producing these raps. Probably the most 
convenient way is to place the heel of your 
shoe against the leg of the table and by a 
downward motion you will be able to pro- 
duce at your command any number of raps 
you may desire, and by a little practice you 
will be able to produce these raps to the 
satisfaction of your sitters that they come 
from the center of the table, and as wood is 
conductor for all sounds, the sitters natur- 
ally think that these rappings come from the 
center of the table. 

Another way of producing these rappings 



16 TEUTH AND FACTS 

is by one's knee joints, which many people 
can throw out of joint at their will, and by 
placing their knee firmly against the leg of 
the table and twisting the lower portion of 
their foot, it becomes quite easy after a lit- 
tle practice to convey these sounds through 
the table. This method also makes a very 
convincing test. Another method of pro- 
ducing these raps is by the finger tips, and is 
accomplished in this manner: First, having 
the ends of the fingers perfectly dry, then 
placing the end of the finger upon the table, 
and by giving a hard downward pressure of 
the arm, the finger will slip upon the wood 
and produce these raps. The latter way can 
only be accomplished when there is no cloth 
on the table, and it was through these sim- 
ple methods that they claimed to communi- 
cate with the spirit world. In order to re- 
ceive these so-called messages, they made an 
alphabet upon a sheet of paper or slate. 
They would then lay the alphabet on the 
table and use a pencil to point to the letters, 
beginning in rotation from a to z, and when 
the pencil was upon the letter that the spirit 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 17 

wished to use, it would rap upon the table 
and they would repeat this performance un- 
til a name was spelled or a message was re- 
ceived from the supposed departed friend. 
In asking questions of these all-wise spirits 
they would use a much more simpli- 
fied method, namely, one rap meaning "no;" 
two raps meaning "yes," and three raps 
meaning "I don't know;" and it is with 
these simple demonstrations that the Fox 
sisters startled the world, and yet this man- 
ifestation is so simple that it is almost 
laughable to think that the public could be 
beguiled into believing that these raps came 
from an unseen and supernatural power. 
And from that time on different phases of 
mediumship and manifestations have been 
originated and introduced to the public. 



18 TRUTH AND FACTS 



TRANCE MEDIUMS. 

These mediums claim that they are con- 
trolled by spirits and that they are in a semi- 
conscious state and do not know what they 
are doing, when under this influence. These 
mediums do all of the talking, claiming that 
the dear spirits take control of their vocal 
organs, and through them the spirits are 
able to deliver their messages. They close 
their eyes and then sit very rigid and by 
bringing all of their muscles to a tension, 
exerting all of their nervous energy, see, or 
imagine that they see, or hear these mes- 
sages; and under this nervous strain, some 
of them believe that they are really con- 
trolled by some spirit's power. 

They are a good deal like the boy that 
told a lie so often that he believed it himself. 
Have you ever closed your eyes in a dark 
room, when your mind was in a passive 
state, and allowing your imagination to run 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 19 

to its full limit, seen many beautiful moun- 
tains, rivers, faces and a great many imag- 
inary things that will appear before your 
closed optics? This class of fakirs gener- 
ally start by sitting in circles after some 
medium has told them that they are pos- 
sessed of mediumistic powers. They are 
told by the medium or the medium's spirits 
that they must sit in their own home in a 
dark room and they will soon develop their 
phase of mediumship, and after sitting for a 
few months or years, as they have been told, 
and not getting the desired results, they be- 
gin to fake like the rest of them; but in some 
rare cases, where people have a large imag- 
inary vision, they actually fool themselves 
into believing that they are really controlled 
by spirit power. Clairvoyancy, from begin- 
ning to end, is nothing more than imaginary, 
and those that wish to be classed as medi- 
ums adopt this simple, unconvincing phase 
of mediumship. 



20 TRUTH AND PACTS 



CLAIRVOYANCE AND CLAIRAUDI- 

ANCE. 

These phases of mediumship are practiced 
by a class of mediums that are unable to 
perform the more complicated phases of so- 
called mediumship. The word "Clairvoy- 
ance" means seeing, or an insight to the 
spirit world. The mediums practicing this 
phase claim that through this wonderful 
power of second sight they are able to see 
and describe these disembodied spirits, and 
also to receive messages by signs and sym- 
bols, and to see transpiring events, and that 
they can also divulge your past and future. 
This differs from the phase called Clairaudi- 
ance, as Clair audiant means to hear. These 
mediums claim to be able to hear and con- 
verse with the spirits. These two phases 
work hand in hand. A medium practicing 
both of them is supposed to be able to see 
and describe these spirits, and also to con- 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 21 

verse with them. These phases of so-called 
mediumship are not much of an improve- 
ment on the Gypsy fortune-teller, who tells 
your fortune with cards, or by looking at 
the palms of your hand and is the most un- 
convincing phase practiced by so-called me- 
diums, and in order to be very successful, 
one must be a good reader of human nature 
and a close observer; also a fair guesser, and 
if any of their predictions come true, they 
herald their powers in big printed advertise- 
ments and add many converts to their list 
of suckers, but not very much is ever said 
about the hundreds of times that their pre- 
dictions are wrong. They will begin giving 
you a reading, as they wish to call it, by tell- 
ing you that you are very fond of music and 
art, and that you have a very refined nature; 
also that you are blessed with a good dispo- 
sition and that you are a person that uses 
good judgment, and much more of this sort 
of praise that every one wishes to hear about 
themselves. A great many of these medi- 
ums use astrology to describe their client's 
nature and disposition, and are able to give 



22 TRUTH AND FACTS 

some very convincing test by what is known 
as the " Medium's Dope Book," which the 
author will treat on in the following pages. 

This class of fakirs is very detrimental 
to the country at large, and should be exter- 
minated, if possible; for through their own 
poor judgment and advice they have caused 
many failures and absconders, not only do- 
ing an injustice to their clients, but making 
many people indirectly involved, lose their 
hard-earned savings. It is surprising how 
many business men follow the advice of 
these fakirs. The author knows of cases 
where bankers and other large business in- 
terests that have the poor man's money in- 
vested have closed their doors by taking the 
advice of some of these mediums, who would 
not be capable of earning an honest living 
for themselves. This is one of the lowest of 
so-called mediumship practiced. They have 
broken up many happy homes by finding 
soul mates, etc. Some of them advertise to 
find hidden treasures and also to locate min- 
erals, etc. Now, gentle reader, if you were 
possessed of a power whereby you could 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 23 

locate gold or other minerals, would you 
barter this power for so much per sitting, 
or would you use it to locate some of this 
valuable ore which the world today is so 
greedy about? And does it stand to reason 
that this great God-given power they speak 
so much of could bring so much happiness 
as they claim? Then why is it that these 
low and degrading beings are always ad- 
dicted to some drug or liquor habit? No, 
dear reader, it is the constant strain upon 
their nervous system, and knowing that 
they are doing wrong, that they become de- 
graded and nervous. Therefore, they con- 
stantly require the aid of some stimulant to 
keep up their notorious work. 



24 TRUTH AND FACTS 



KEELER'S TEST SEANCE. 

This seance was originated and practiced 
by Pierra 0. L. A. Keeler, and is given in 
the light. The cabinet used in this seance 
is the same as the corner cabinet used in ma- 
terialization, with the exception that the 
front curtain is only about five feet high. In 
front of this cabinet is placed three chairs 
facing the audience, or sitters, so that the 
backs of the chairs are against the curtain 
of the cabinet. The medium will then call 
upon a lady and gentleman to occupy these 
chairs, placing the lady in the center chair 
and the gentleman in the chair to the right 
of her, the medium occupying the chair to 
the left of her. The lady will then hold the 
hands of the gentleman to her right. The 
medium will then place both hands upon the 
lady's bare arm, then in front of them is 
placed another black curtain, and this is 
pinned around their necks, leaving their 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 25 

heads exposed to the sitters. Inside of the 
cabinet is placed a small table with writing 
material, telegraph instrument, tambour- 
ines, bells, guitars, or anything that the me- 
dium wishes to have the spirits manipulate. 
In this seance the manifestation is composed 
of ringing of bells, beating of tambourines, 
thumping of guitars, messages, etc. The 
messages as a rule are prepared before the 
seance. The mediums in these seances some- 
times allow a few of the sitters the privilege 
of looking over in the cabinet, but as the 
noises cease the minute they look, the only 
satisfaction that they receive is that there 
is no one in the cabinet, and the lady sitting 
in the center will positively swear that she 
had held the hands of the gentleman on her 
right, and that the medium had never re- 
leased her arm. This makes a very satisfac- 
tory Test Seance, especially if the medium 
will give short intermissions and have a dif- 
ferent lady and gentleman to occupy the two 
chairs to assure the sitters that they were 
not confederates. To perform this manner 
of manifestation the medium, in taking hold 



26 TRUTH AND PACTS 

of the lady's bare arm, will place the left 
hand above his right, and will take a very 
firm grip upon the arm, and after sitting this 
way a few moments, he gradually grips 
tighter with his left hand that is nearest her 
elbow, and stopping the circulation, he will 
gradually release his right hand, unbeknown 
to the lady. Once having his right hand 
free, he is ready to reach into the cabinet 
and handle the tambourine, produce spirit 
hands above their heads, or whatever he 
wishes to do, and then, by carefully placing 
his right hand back upon the lady's arm, he 
is ready for inspection. 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 27 



HOW THEY SECURE THEIR INFOR- 
MATION, OR THE MEDIUM'S 
DOPE BOOK. 

In every city throughout the world there 
are any number of mediums practicing these 
different phases of mediumship, and in order 
to hold their patronage, it is very essential 
that they keep on hand a good stock of this 
information; so every medium makes a 
"dope book" and keeps it where he or she 
can refer to it in a moment 's notice. The au- 
thor will first explain the many different 
ways that these mediums secure this infor- 
mation. A medium is always on the alert 
and makes memorandums from the conver- 
sations of the sitters. They also watch the 
daily papers for death notices, etc., and also 
secure a great deal of information by mak- 
ing indirect inquiries. Children are also a 
great help to them in securing this desired 
information. Some of these mediums, on a 



28 TEUTH AND PACTS 

pretence of looking for a lost or departed 
friend, will visit the coroner's office, where 
a record is kept of all deaths. They will also 
look over the burial certificates of the under- 
taking establishments. They have even 
been known to go out into graveyards, and 
by the aid of a city directory, obtain a great 
deal of this desired information. Still an- 
other way of securing it is from the Family 
Bible, where the records of the families' 
deaths, births and marriages are kept. They 
also get this "dope," as they call it, from 
what is known as the "message seance," or 
"platform test seance," which the author 
will fully explain in the following pages, un- 
der the heading of "Message Seance." This 
information is guarded as being very pre- 
cious, as it is the one big asset of medium- 
ship, for no medium, no matter how great 
and renowned, can give you any test without 
knowing this information beforehand; but I 
have heard many spiritualists remark, 
when they had heard of some medium being 
caught in some trickery, and the evidence 
being so plain that it ould not be denied 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 29 

that he was faking: "Well, Mr. So and So 
might have been dishonest, but the people 
are demanding so much of him that he is 
hardly responsible for what he does; but I 
know that he is a genuine medium, because 
he brought back my little girl and told me 
her name, and also gave me other tests that 
I know he knew nothing about." But it 
would be very interesting for some of these 
mossback spiritualists to read one of these 
medium's dope books, and they certainly 
would be shocked if they could hear a few of 
these mediums trading and swapping their 
dope and telling who were the easy marks, 
and giving the names of their departed dead. 
If a strange medium arrives in a city he at 
once hunts up the most prominent mediums 
and receives this so-called "dope;" then he 
is ready to open up business and catch suck- 
ers. The author will now give the reader 
an illustration of how these mediums keep 
their dope book. 



30 TRUTH AND FACTS 



AN EXTRACT FROM THE MEDIUM'S 

DOPE BOOK. 
A 

Artwell, Julia W. a methodist 

(maiden name Julia W. Caldson) 
wife of Henry H. Artwell — real estate 
agent 

She has sister in spirit-world by the 
name of Alice, called Al. for short. Also 
son George, daughter Clara and father 
Chas. W. Caldson. Has living mother, 
Clara Caldson, father-in-law Henry H. 
Artwell. Mother-in-law's name, Nellie, 
and son Clarence. 
Allen Hattie M. — widow — Friend of Jesse 

Carr 
dressmaker of Chicago, she has her 
mother's estate to settle in Tennessee, 
maiden name Hattie Clure, mother's 
name before marriage, Hopkins. 
Husband's name, Edmund R. (I have 
kept my promise to come back) (died 



B 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 31 

1907) She has living sister, Mrs. O. J. 
Babcock, living with her. She does not 
believe in Spiritualism, is a Catholic. 
(Will she ever see the truth?) (She 
will learn in the spirit-world) Father's 
name, J. R. Clure. He had long black 
beard. Daughter Emma died when a 
baby. Has living daughter, Mrs. Lucile 
Hanf ord, living in Chicago. 

Bailey Horace G. (rich) -English- from 

Galveston 
(A bachelor). Father in spirit world. 
He was named after him. Mother liv- 
ing (Eliza), has nephew (Horace) in 
spirit-world. Has living niece (Carrie) 
and worries a great deal about her. Has 
living sister that he worships, the moth- 
er of the above children. (Made his 
money in cotton) . 

Baker, Thomas A. husband 

Baker, Alice wife 

Harry son Living 

Irma daughter 

Have twins in spirit world, never named 



32 TRUTH AND FACTS 

Father's name John H. Mother Clara 
(maiden name) Fowler. Both living. 
Her father, J. J. Newton, in spirit- 
world. Her mother's name, May. She 
is living. Has sister, Mrs. B. F. Balzer, 
in Washington. Baker is in shoe busi- 
ness. 



PERT. TO SPIRITUALISM 33 



AGE AND BALLOT TEST OK 

SEANCE. 

'I . 
convincing of all p 

'J be] 

pg of pa -: audi- 

pfrit Erie 
ir own paper a note 

boo, 

any difference ie«e 

one 

oal- 
oiatfor: 
laid on a table hi full 
The medium i* then 

: the audience, 
r :rg, 80 that the table with the bal 
. full view of the andie all 

times. Afi akirj^ 



34 TRUTH AND FACTS 

these ballots and under the pretence of being 
under control of some Indian spirit, which 
all mediums have, will pick up one of these 
ballots and say: 

"I have a message from a party in the au- 
dience to a departed spirit, which says, 
'Dear John — If you are here tonight, please 
give me some test so that I will know the 
truth. Your brother, Will Parker.' " 

The medium will then ask if anybody in 
the audience wrote this message, and if so, 
will they please stand up, which of course is 
recognized, for this question was not writ- 
ten by any confederate of the medium. It 
requires a great deal of tact on the medium's 
part to answer this question. If the medium 
has no dope on this party, the question is 
answered in an indirect way. The medium 
will answer this question by saying that, 

" There are several spirits around you. 
Most likely your brother is one of them. I 
see one that stands very close to you, but as 
he has not learned how to take on the mate- 
rial form, he cannot give you any message 
tonight; but if you will attend my etherealiz- 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 35 

ing, or materializing seance at my residence, 
no doubt you will get in communication with 
your brother." 

The next ballot that the medium picks up, 
he says : 

"I have a message here to a departed 
spirit, which says, 'Dear Clarence — Is there 
any truth in Spiritualism? Signed, (Mary 
Carter).'" 

The medium may not answer this message 
in quite the same way, but will give some in- 
direct answer that will satisfy the writer of 
this question; which will be very satisfac- 
tory to the writer of the message that 
it is through some disembodied spirit 
that this message came, and of course, 
not knowing how the medium was 
able to read the ballot, you attend more 
of these circles or seances to find out how 
these things are performed, and finally you 
become a mossback spiritualist, for in course 
of time you will receive some message that 
will convince you as to the genuineness of 
these so-called demonstrations of spirit re- 
turn. That is, after the medium has secured 



36 TRUTH AND FACTS 

the required information concerning you, 
one of the ways to perform this trick, and 
probably the one used the most by these so- 
called mediums, is to pass out through the 
audience small slips of paper asking those 
present to write a question upon them and 
to sign their names at the bottom. The me- 
dium, in order to perform this demonstra- 
tion, must first write one message. Of 
course, this message will be the first one you 
answer, and will not be recognized unless 
you have a confederate in the audience. You 
then open the message up and pretend to 
read the question that you have just an- 
swered. This, of course, will satisfy the sit- 
ters as to your ability, but the question that 
you read is not the question that you had 
written, but the one that you will answer 
next. 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 37 



MATERIALIZATION. 

Materialization is where the spirit is sup- 
posed to take on a material form and ap- 
pear as they did on the earth plane. This 
differs from etherealization, as an ethereal 
form is supposed to be composed of vapor 
only. 

This phase of mediumship is the most try- 
ing and hardest of all for the medium to 
practice, and it is also very dangerous as 
some skeptical investigator might stick a 
knife into the spirit in order to determine 
the genuineness of this so-called phase of 
mediumship, and as this has been the case a 
great number of times, the medium, in order 
to muster up courage and nerve, must be 
addicted to the drug habit in some form. 
There is an exception to this, however, as 
some of these mediums do not give this man- 
ner of manifestations only to a few of their 
most ardent followers and friends, whom 



38 TKUTH AND FACTS 

they can rely upon to swallow any manner 
of demonstration that the medium sees fit 
to call spiritual manifestation. This class 
of followers will swear by all that is dear to 
them that the medium is genuine and even 
if the medium should be caught, they will 
readily explain that it was impersonation, 
impersonation being a phase of mediumship 
similar to that of materialization, the me- 
dium claiming that when the forces are not 
strong enough to take on the material form, 
they send the medium from the cabinet to 
impersonate the spirit that wishes to com- 
municate. 

This phase of mediumship is generally 
practiced by women. The author uses the 
term women because he does not believe that 
any lady would resort to such a low profes- 
sion as this. The reason this phase, as a 
rule, is practiced by women is because they 
are better prepared to carry the parapher- 
nalia than men. In giving this class of se- 
ance, the medium uses a cabinet. These cab- 
inets are sometimes made on a square frame, 
being covered with black muslin, but as a 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 39 

rule the majority of the mediums stretch 
a black curtain of the same material across 
the corner of the room; also having the back- 
ground and the floor under the cabinet cov- 
ered with the same material. These seances 
are given in dark rooms, with just enough 
light to distinguish the spirits as they 
emerge from the cabinet. The medium in 
these seances as a rule sits inside of the cabi- 
net, and is supposed to be in a trance, or 
controlled, and not conscious of any of the 
manifestations that are taking place ; but, as 
a matter of fact, they are about the busiest 
person on earth at this time. 

These seances open with the singing of 
hymns by the sitters, as in all seances. This 
is supposed to give proper conditions for all 
spiritual manifestations, as has been fully 
explained in the foregoing pages, and it is 
very essential in this seance, as it gives the 
medium time to make up to impersonate the 
desired spirit. After several spirits have ap- 
peared, then it becomes necessary for the 
sitters to sing again in order to give the 
spirits more strength, this giving the me- 



40 TRUTH AND FACTS 

drum more time to change his or her make- 
up. If you have ever attended one of these 
seances, you would have noticed that they 
are composed of singing and then of spirits; 
and singing, and then spirits again, etc. 

This class of mediumship requires more 
paraphernalia than any other and the me- 
dium must be well supplied with this make- 
up. The makeup consists of gauze silk, 
painted on one side with aluminous paint. 
Women practicing this phase of mediumship 
have an underskirt made of this material, 
the under side painted with this aluminous 
paint. There is no danger of detection with 
this paint, as it will not show only in the 
dark. They also carry additional supply of 
gauze painted in this manner, so as to be 
able to produce three and four spirits of dif- 
ferent sizes at the same time, this making a 
very convincing test. The silk used in these 
so-called demonstrations is so flimsy that 
several yards can be put into an ordinary 
sewing thimble. Mediums giving this phase 
of mediumship can have a hole bored in the 
heel of their shoe and are able to carry an 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 41 

abundant supply of this material. Some 
mediums use what is called an extension rod. 
An extension rod is a small tube about the 
size of lead pencil, having smaller tubes on 
the inside, and works on the order of a tele- 
scope. These as a rule are about three feet 
long when pulled out. On the small end of 
this rod is a hook similar to that of a button- 
hook, and can be used to float these so-called 
spirits around the room. It also being hol- 
low, the medium can talk through this tube 
and carry the impression that the voice of 
the spirit is many feet away from where he 
or she sits. This also accounts for many 
converts to Spiritualism, as the medium in 
the cabinet will be heard to cough, and a 
second later, the voice of the spirit will be 
heard in the center of the room. The me- 
dium must always talk in a whisper and be 
very careful not to let their lips meet in do- 
ing so, as it would be easy to detect that it 
was made by human agency. They must 
also be able to change their voice at com- 
mand. 

The author in giving this phase of me- 



42 TRUTH AND FACTS 

diumship always used a black handker- 
chief and black gloves and as the back- 
ground and curtain of the cabinet were 
black, he was able to move about in front 
of the cabinet without detection, and by 
having about three yards of painted gauze, 
he would bring these supposed spirits out 
of the floor and then cause them to dema- 
terialize down through the floor. He gained 
considerable renown with this experiment. 

In order to materialize four spirits at one 
time, it is necessary for the medium to take 
off both shoes, and by wrapping a piece of 
aluminous prepared gauze around their feet 
and then using both hands he can produce 
spirits to the entire satisfaction of the sit- 
ters. This, however, may account for the 
graveyard smell that some of them possess, 
and as one old lady remarked, after she had 
been up to the cabinet to get a message from 
her departed husband: 

"I just know that was John because he 
smelt just like he did when we buried him. 
You know we kept him until mortification 
set in so as to be sure he was dead." 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 43 

One Pacific Coast medium, in giving these 
seances, used to take off most of her clothes 
and use them for making up these spirits, 
and she has told me if she had been caught, 
she would have been a sorry sight to behold. 
This medium also uses a small electric flash 
light, and by hiding it in the folds of her 
dress, she was able to read messages sent 
into the cabinet by the sitters, and this 
would enable the spirits to answer the ques- 
tions, and is also very satisfactory to the 
skeptical. The ellectric flash light can also be 
used to make spirit light by pasting three or 
four folds of tissue paper over the bulb. 
Some mediums make these lights by wetting 
the end of their finger and rubbing the end 
of a match, but this is not very satisfactory 
on account of the sulphur smell it leaves. 
A better way to produce these lights is to 
cut small stars or crescents out of paste- 
board and paint one side of them with alum- 
inous paint. 

To produce a materialized hand the me- 
dium must first let a small box of matches 
stand in olive oil for a day or two, then put 



44 TRUTH AND FACTS 

the oil into a bottle that can be carried in 
the pocket, and after bringing forth a num- 
ber of spirits, the cabinet control can re- 
quest the sitters to sing a few songs and 
while this condition-making device is going 
on, rub this oil over your hand and thrust 
it out through the folds of the curtain and 
you have an illuminated, materialized hand. 
This will leave no odor like matches will, and 
as soon as the oil has been absorbed into the 
hand, the light will then disappear. There 
is not the least danger of detection in this 
experiment, and it also makes a big hit with 
your followers. When men practice ;this 
phase of mediumship, they generally have 
one or more confederates, and if he is per- 
manently located, will have a trap door, or 
secret panel, to let his confederates in and 
out of the cabinet. In this case the medium 
sits upon the outside of the cabinet and does 
not take a very active part in the manifesta- 
tion. This, of course, is more convincing to 
the sitter. 

It is also very surprising what an impor- 
tant part imagination plays in these seances. 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 45 

People whom you would never think would 
let their imagination run away with them 
will swear that they recognized departed 
friends through the folds of these cabinets, 
although there are a great many Spiritual- 
ists today who cannot swallow this kind of 
manifestation, it seeming too material to be 
spiritual. 

The author has given this phase of me- 
diumship before many thousands of people, 
and in all his career as a medium, has never 
seen or heard of such a thing as spirit return, 
and he has been on the inside workings of 
the most prominent mediums of the day. Has 
it ever occurred to you, gentle reader, that if 
there was such a thing, why has not some of 
our friends who have been lost or murdered 
returned and told us how it happened? But 
such not being the case, mediums have to 
await telegraphic advice before giving their 
information. 



46 TRUTH AND PACTS 



TRUMPET SEANCE. 

Trumpet mediums as a rule use a trumpet 
that is about three feet long, which is made 
of tin or aluminum, aluminum being prefer- 
able on account of it being lighter than tin. 
These trumpets are about four inches in 
diameter on the large end, and taper down 
to about one-half inch at the small end. 
There is no regulation to the sizes of these 
trumpets, however, and they will vary in 
size according to the medium's ideas. They 
will explain the object of the trumpet by 
claiming that it helps the spirits to vocalize, 
and that there are so many spirits too weak 
to talk without them. All mediums wet 
their trumpets upon the inside, claiming that 
the dampness also helps them to vocalize. 
The real object, however, is that after the 
medium has talked through the trumpet, the 
sitter will not be able to detect the moisture 
that is caused by the medium's voice. An- 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 47 

other object is that the sitter cannot smell 
the medium's breath, whether onions or 
whiskey — generally whiskey. This also 
gives a graveyard rattle to the spirit voices, 
so the reader can see what an essential thing 
it is for the medium to wet the trumpet. 

There are two different ways of giving 
Trumpet Seances. The simplest and most 
generally practiced way is given in the dark. 
The other is only practiced by a very few 
mediums, and is given in semi-light, that is, 
with just enough light to distinguish every 
one in the room, and as a rule they give ethe- 
realization in this seance, also, and some- 
times it is called Trumpet and Etherealiza- 
tion Seance. But as a general thing, these 
semi-light seances end up with a dark se- 
ance, that is, after the medium has convinced 
his sitters that he took no part in the mani- 
festation. 

In what is known as the "dark circle", the 
medium uses no cabinet but places the trum- 
pet in the center of the room, and then forms 
a circle around the outer edge of the room, 
and after being seated and the lights extin- 



48 TEUTH AND FACTS 

guished, the sitters, after saying the Lord's 
Prayer and having sung a few songs, the 
medium will have the trumpet in his or her 
possession, and in order to gain the confi- 
dence of the sitters on both sides, the me- 
dium will place a mouth-piece upon the 
trumpet, and by placing the trumpet be- 
tween his or her knees, will ask every one 
to take hold of hands until the spirits begin 
to manifest, and after the head control has 
made a few opening remarks, every one will 
release hands, the medium then having both 
hands free to manipulate the trumpet. 

The author will not go into details in the 
dark circle, because it will be fully explained 
under the semi-light seance. In the semi- 
light seance, the cabinet used is exactly like 
that used in materialization, with the excep- 
tion that the black cloth on the floor extends 
out into the center of the room, and the 
trumpet is placed upon the inside of the 
cabinet. The medium sits on one side of the 
cabinet. The light used in these seances is 
a small kerosene lamp, and is placed in the 
farthest corner of the room and is so ar- 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 49 

ranged to throw light upon the center of the 
cabinet. This is done by placing a piece of 
paper around the lamp leaving a small place 
open for the light to shine through. Some 
mediums have a small box to set this light 
in. This is much better as this leaves the 
medium in the dark. After having the se- 
ance room prepared in this manner, the me- 
dium is ready to demonstrate his powers. 

In the semi-light seance, the medium can- 
not talk directly into the trumpet so he or 
she must have in their possession a rubber 
hose about three feet long. This hose is so 
pliable that it can be flattened and rolled 
into very small compass, and held together 
with a wide rubber band. On one end of this 
hose must be a mouthpiece painted black 
like the hose. The other end slips over the 
small end of the trumpet, and with the aid 
of black gloves and a black handkerchief to 
cover the medium's shirt bosom, the medium 
is then able to entertain the sitters, and to 
further strengthen the belief of his follow- 
ers, the trumpet will lay in the center of the 
room in full view of all present. The hose 



50 TRUTH AND PACTS 

attached being black, the same as the cloth 
on the floor, it is impossible to detect it. The 
medium talking into the end of the hose 
forces the voice through the trumpet and 
the spectators, seeing the outlines of the 
medium many feet away, are perfectly satis- 
fied with the results, and with the aid of the 
Cabinet Controls, which as a rule are com- 
posed of some prominent doctor and a few 
Indian spirits, such as " Shooting Star", etc., 
and last, but by no means least, a little child 
control, who has the wisdom of a grown-up 
of 60 years of age — to come and sing and 
give an abundant supply of good advice, and 
with a few yards of illuminous painted 
gauze, such as used in materialization, is able 
to produce etherealization, and have these 
ethereal forms talk in independent voices 
without the aid of the trumpet, which are 
merely whisperings. After the end of these 
wonderful demonstrations, the lights are ex- 
tinguished in order that the sitters may be 
able to get much more marvelous results. 
The medium can then, by standing up and 
with the aid of the rubber hose, sliding the 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 51 

end of the trumpet along the ceiling and by 
talking into the mouth-piece of the hose, give 
the impression that the trumpet is sliding 
around on the ceiling and that the spirits are 
communicating through it. 

After this experiment, lights will be seen 
to float around the room and in order to get 
more conditions, etc., an Indian Chief will 
amuse you by giving you some poor imita- 
tion of a steam boat, railroad train, saw mills 
or some of the wild beasts of the forests. 
After this, the doctor, or head control, will 
give a few closing remarks, and then in order 
for the medium to put away their hose and 
paraphernalia, the little child control will 
come and talk, independent of the trumpet, 
giving you a word of advice and good cheer, 
and with a "God Bless You", the seance 
ends. 

In this class of seances, the medium must 
be able to change his voice from a deep bass 
voice to that of a woman. The hardest voice 
is that of a child and it must have that child- 
ish prattle. Mediums with tenor voices make 
this the easiest, and it is one of the most es- 



52 TRUTH AND PACTS 

sential in the seances, as no seance is com- 
plete without one of these little controls to 
call every one mamma, or papa, and is al- 
ways quite a drawing card and proves a very 
big asset to the medium. 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 53 



SLATE WRITINGS. 

This phase of mediumship is generally 
given by appointment, and some mediums 
have such a large patronage that they book 
their engagements for weeks ahead. There 
are several ways of giving slate-writings, the 
medium using the way that circumstances 
and conditions will permit. The simplest 
and best way of producing slate-writing, 
providing, of course, that your patron will 
make a future engagement with you, is to 
make a future appointment; or you can force 
this by claiming that conditions are very 
poor and that you would be unable to give 
a writing today, thereby compelling your sit- 
ter to return in a day or two. This gives 
you plenty of time to get the desired infor- 
mation, or "dope", upon your intended vic- 
tim. After securing this, write it up on a 
pair of slates, using a pure nitrate of silver 
pencil, and then by breathing upon the writ- 



54 TRUTH AND FACTS 

ing it will disappear and leave the slates 
apparently clean. Then place on a table a 
bowl of salt water. When your sitter arrives, 
insist that he or she wash the slates, of 
course using this salt water, then place a 
rubber band on the slates and have your sit- 
ter hold one corner of same. The action of 
the salt water will develop the writing after 
the slate is dry, and after sitting this way 
ten or fifteen minutes, the medium relating 
some of his or her weird experiences, in or- 
der to fill in time, will then either by raps 
or impressions, inform the sitter that they — 
meaning the spirits — have finished. The sit- 
ter, upon opening the slates, will find to his 
or her satisfaction, a message, and knowing 
that the slates were washed and that they 
had never left their possession, the medium 
adds another booster and dupe to his or her 
list. 

Another method that is used by these me- 
diums is to have a pair of prepared slates 
awaiting their victim, and on a table there 
will be a pile of slates. When the sitter ar- 
rives, the medium will take three or four 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 55 

pairs of slates and wash them. He will then 
put them on the table again, but in the mean- 
time he has exchanged one pair for the pair 
with the message on it. This pair will have 
a piece of newspaper with one side painted 
the same color as that of the slate, and it 
resembles the slate so much that the sitter, 
sitting a few feet away, cannot detect the 
difference, and after displaying both sides 
of the slates, the medium will lay them upon 
the table under the pretense of picking up 
a rubber band to fasten them together with, 
and picking up the slates, will leave the pre- 
pared paper upon the table. The paper, lay- 
ing upon a newspaper, will not be noticed, 
as the painted side is laying face downward, 
the printed side up; but as this requires some 
sleight of hand, it is very difficult, without 
a great deal of practice. Where mediums are 
permanently located, they are able by the aid 
of a confederate to give some very clever 
writings, and advertise for you to bring your 
own slates and that they may be wired and 
screwed together. They will also insist that 
you mark them for identification, and you 



56 TRUTH AND PACTS 

may carry these slates home before opening 
them. This assures the sitter that the slates 
have never been opened, and upon finding a 
message upon the inside, the investigator 
will become a full fledged Spiritualist. 

To give these writings under these con- 
ditions, it is necessary to have the room pre- 
pared. If the house has a basement or cel- 
lar, it may be arranged in this manner : Have 
a trap door in the floor just big enough to 
pass a pair of slates. Over this tack a fur 
rug, cutting out a piece of the rug, and tack- 
ing it on the trap door, and then place over 
this a four-legged Dining Room or Library 
table, having a heavy table cover over it, 
and reaching almost to the floor. This is 
used for a cabinet. The medium will request 
the sitter to sit on the opposite side of the 
table and hold one end of the slates. The 
medium will then place the slates under the 
table, and before the sitter takes hold of 
them, he will substitute another pair for the 
ones the sitter had brought. They will then 
take hold of the slates. The confederate in 
the basement, upon receiving a signal from 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 57 

the medium, will open the trap door and take 
the sitters' sealed slates into the basement, 
where he has an alcohol lamp and a small 
kettle for steaming open sealed questions 
and to melt sealing wax. He also has a 
supply of different size screws, wires, screw- 
drivers, and everything else necessary to 
open sealed slates and to reseal them so as 
they appear untouched. He then signals the 
medium that he is through and passes the 
slates back up through the trap. The me- 
dium then, under the pretense of being sha- 
ken by an Indian control, will jerk and twist 
until the sitter releases his hold upon the 
slates. This gives the medium time to make 
the change again, and the sitter takes hold 
of the original slates, not dreaming that the 
change had been made. Mediums giving 
this kind of slate-writing will entertain the 
sitter during all this time by informing him 
or her what kind of medium they would 
make, and as a rule will give them the phase 
of slate-writing, telling them by sitting with 
magnetized slates they would soon develop 
this power, and as mediums charge five dol- 



58 TRUTH AND PACTS 

lars for magnetizing slates, you can see their 
object in always giving yon that phase. If 
the house the medium occupies does not have 
a basement, it is prepared in this manner: 
By placing a dresser or chiffonier in front of 
a door leading into another room and hav- 
ing the drawer that is to be used covered up 
on the inside with black cloth, and having 
the back end of the drawer hinged, and by 
having a sliding panel in the door the con- 
federate is able to get the slates in this man- 
ner. The medium uses the drawer for a 
cabinet and as the drawer is locked during 
this seance, the sitter is convinced as to the 
genuineness of the medium. 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 59 



MAGNETIC HEALING. 

Magnetic healing differs from Christian 
Science and other drugless methods in name 
only, and they have made thousands of con- 
verts to their cause by the claims of the 
many who have received benefits, if not 
cures, by these drugless treatments. These 
benefits and cures cannot be denied, but 
realizing that it is a known fact that fifty 
per cent of the ailments are either imaginary 
or caused by the stomach, the explanation is 
very simple. Those that are imaginary can 
be cured by suggestion, providing, of course, 
that the healer has the full confidence 
of the patient as to their ability to effect a 
cure. The ailments caused by the stomach 
will wear away by giving Mother Nature a 
few hours to adjust the trouble and set 
things aright again. Then the patient is en- 
thused and willing to give testimony in re- 
gards to the remarkable relief they received 



60 TRUTH AND PACTS 

at the hands of the healer. This not only- 
gives the healer another patron, but adds 
another booster to their cause. It is these 
simple ills only that are cured. It has never 
been known of any chronic diseases being 
cured by these healers, although they often 
relieve rheumatism, sore muscles or stiff 
joints by the means of massaging. The 
author does not wish to condemn these drug- 
less methods of curing the sick, as he firmly 
believes in them to a great extent, and be- 
lieves that the world in general is using too 
many drugs for these simple ills, and that if 
the people would live a purer life, free from 
debauchery, keeping the body clean, and stop 
making swill barrels of their stomachs, that 
two-thirds of the diseases would be elimin- 
ated. Therefore, the author only wishes to 
criticise the healer who claims to be en- 
dowed with this wonderful gift or power. 
The author knows of a case where one of 
these disreputable curs was given just four 
hours to leave town on account of the liberty 
that he took with his patients under the ruse 
of his professional ability. 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 61 



SPIRIT PAINTINGS. , 

This phase of mediumship is only prac- 
ticed by a very few mediums, as it is very 
unconvincing and only takes with those who 
have been made firm believers in occult 
phenomena by some other phase of so-called 
mediumship. The medium giving spirit 
paintings must be possessed of some ability 
as an artist. These paintings, as a rule, are 
of no merit, and could not be disposed of on 
the market at any price, but will bring any 
amount, from five to one hundred dollars, 
under pretense of being painted in a dark 
seance by some spirit artist. This phase of 
mediumship is very simple, and all that it re- 
quires to perform it is to substitute the 
painted canvas, or slate, for the one that is 
blank and all that is necessary in order to 
give the impression that it has been painted 
during the seance is to apply a coat of poppy 
oil to it, this making the paint seem fresh 



62 TRUTH AND FACTS 

and as though it had just been finished. This 
is about all that is really necessary for one 
to know to practice this phase of medium- 
ship. 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 63 



PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITUALISM. 

The author wishes to dwell upon this sub- 
ject in order that the reader will understand 
spiritualism as a religion and the theories ad- 
vanced by them pertaining to the hereafter, 
etc. 

Spiritualism eliminates Hell from their re- 
ligion, and also has a different conception 
of Heaven, or the " Spirit World", as they 
so choose to call it, from any other religious 
sect on earth. They believe Heaven to be a 
condition rather than a place, and instead 
of passing out of this world in reality we 
remain right here, but in a spiritual form in- 
stead of a material form. The spiritual 
heaven is composed of seven spheres, begin- 
ning with the dark sphere, where all murder- 
ers and criminals of the worst degree go, 
then advancing along to the seventh, people 
entering these spheres according to the lives 
they led upon the earthly plane. Spiritual- 



64 TRUTH AND PACTS 

ists teach progression after death, but that 
it may take many years for the persons en- 
tering the dark spheres to advance out of 
them into higher spheres and that they all 
advance from one sphere to another until 
they reach the seventh, where everything is 
perfection and only happiness reigns; but in 
order to progress or advance into these 
higher spheres, each one has a duty to per- 
form and must work their way up. For in- 
stance, the spirits entering the dark sphere 
must help or influence some one on the 
earthly plane to lead a better life, so that 
they would be prepared to enter a higher 
sphere upon passing into the spirit world 
and the spirits in the higher spheres to as- 
sist the ones in the lower spheres in their 
work to progress and so on; and under this 
theory spiritualists believe that every liv- 
ing being has a guiding spirit or guardian 
angel looking after them and that they (they 
meaning the spirits) not only help them in 
spiritual matters, but material matters also. 
Spiritualists also believe death to be a con- 
dition only and teach that nothing dies and 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 65 

that there is no death. They also believe that 
animals as well as human beings enter the 
spirit world and that they are possessed of 
souls the same as we are, and that this con- 
dition of passing out of earthly plane into 
the spirit world is merely discarding the old 
house of clay or the old worn-out or diseased 
body that our spirits dwelled in; spiritualists 
believe that by not only leading a good life 
themselves, but by helping others to do so, 
they are rewarded in the spirit world by en- 
tering a higher sphere when they pass to the 
great beyond. Spiritualists recognize no 
God but Nature 's God, and everything that 
is good is their only God, and do not recog- 
nize Christ as a Saviour but as a pure man 
and a good example to follow. This, how- 
ever, is about all that the religion of spirit- 
ualism consists of. Many spiritualists lead 
extraordinarily good lives under this doc- 
trine and place so much confidence in man- 
kind that they prove easy victims for these 
so-called mediums; but it is not only these 
spiritualists that enrich the mediums, but 
church members as well. Thousands of these 



66 TRUTH AND PACTS 

people hold these seances in their homes 
and swear the mediums to secrecy for fear 
that the public would learn how weak mind- 
ed they really were, and knowing that they 
would be ridiculed for it; the mediums then 
have them in their power and can use this 
for a weapon to blackmail them with. 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 67 



SPIRITUALISM AS A RELIGION. 

While the theory of spiritualism is very 
beautiful, it is founded upon no facts and is 
also not feasible from any sense of the word, 
and it is very evident that the ardent fol- 
lowers of this so-called religion have never 
given it a great deal of thought, for if they 
had they would soon see how impossible 
their theories really were, and it seems very 
strange that people of this enlightened age 
with the gift and faculties of thought could 
conjure themselves into believing this hum- 
buggery that is eating its way into the 
homes and churches, and like a viper de- 
stroying its followers, either morally or men- 
tally, sending hundreds to insane asylums 
or quick deaths. There is no religion on earth 
that lacks foundation for their beliefs as 
spiritualism does. Their very first theory and 
conception of the hereafter is not feasible 
from beginning to end, they believing that 



68 TKUTH AND FACTS 

heaven is a condition only and that instead of 
leaving this world we merely discard the old 
shell, and that our spirit floats around in the 
atmosphere and mingles with the people 
upon the earth plane. They also believe that 
every animal has a soul and they, too, merely 
take on this new condition. Now, under this 
theory suppose we stop for a moment and 
take into consideration that beginning from 
the time that we have any knowledge of 
there have been twenty thousand million of 
people passed into the unknown, and besides 
these, think of four or five times this number 
of animals that also, according to their belief, 
possess souls and enter this spirit world of 
theirs. Now, gentle reader, what would be 
the result if this were true? Imagine how 
crowded the atmosphere would be with these 
spirits floating around right here only in a 
spiritual form; and if this should be the case, 
does it not stand to reason that every time 
we expanded our lungs we would be breath- 
ing some of our ancestors, and then again, if 
our atmosphere was so full of these disem- 
bodied spirits, would you think that it should 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 69 

be so hard and require so exacting conditions 
in order for them to commune with us? After 
taking in these few points, we must come 
to the conclusion that spiritualism is not 
a religion. They teach to help one another, 
but this in reality is never practiced. Have 
you ever heard of spiritualism building hos- 
pitals, schools, orphanages, or doing any 
other charitable work ? The author will ven- 
ture to say you never have, as he has failed 
to find any in all his career, and could count 
all of the places of worship that have been 
dedicated to their cause upon the five fingers 
of one hand. This goes to show that the 
world does not benefit by this so-called relig- 
ion in any way whatever, and that the only 
person that gains anything through these 
teachings is the medium, who brings back 
your grandfather so that he can talk to you, 
and give you advice for twenty to thirty min- 
utes at a time ; but should you ask him how 
he passed out of this world, whether of heart 
failure or if he was kicked to death by an 
army mule, as the case might be, you would 
find, after asking the question, that this was 



70 TRUTH AND PACTS 

an awful shock to him, and he would become 
so weak that he would have to postpone his 
little lecture of advice. These teachings are 
so ridiculous that it seems almost improba- 
ble that the world in general will allow it to 
be practiced, especially since no one but 
these arch grafters benefit by it; and the au- 
thor believes that if the money spent in mis- 
sionary work would be used in wiping out 
this vile home-wrecking "Ism," the world 
would be a great deal better off, for even the 
religion of the heathen is preferable to that 
of spiritualism, because it does not weaken 
the mind or cause so much unhappiness 
among their fellow men. 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM Tl 



EXPERIENCES OF THE AUTHOR 

And How I Became a Public Medium. 

During my fourteen years of posing before 
the public as a medium the author has had 
many experiences which were quite exciting 
and ridiculous, and all of them quite amus- 
ing. Probably the most interesting of these 
occurrences was when I gave my first seance, 
which was an Etherealization and Trumpet 
seance, which I gave to a select few of my 
bosom friends to demonstrate my powers. 
Having received all of this information from 
one of the most prominent mediums of that 
time, and thinking that I would have a little 
pleasure at my friends' expense, I gave this 
seance, which was the beginning of my 
career as a medium. Seeing how easily they 
were duped, and thinking that it would be 
profitable from a money standpoint, I then 
decided to adopt it as a profession. 

This seance that I refer to took place in 



72 TRUTH AND FACTS 

the home of one of my neighbors, and to out- 
do myself, I perhaps stepped over the bound- 
ary line and did a great many things that no 
up-to-date medium would think of doing. 
Since that time I have learned that it does 
not pay from a financial point to extend 
these physical demonstrations too far. On 
this evening that I have referred to, we gath- 
ered together a party of us, which was com- 
posed of eight ladies and eight gentlemen. 
We then placed across the corner of the par- 
lor a small black curtain, which mediums 
call cabinets. We then formed a semi-circle 
in order to produce the horseshoe magnet 
which you hear so many mediums speak of. 
After we had sat a few minutes in this posi- 
tion there seemed to appear through the 
folds of this cabinet a spirit, which claimed 
to be the father of one of my friends, and be- 
ing somewhat elated over the reception it 
received from my friend and several others 
of the sitters, I became somewhat convinced 
as to my power of deceiving the public, and 
owing to the strangeness and unprecedented 
mystery of these so-called spirit manifesta- 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 73 

tions, I had become a subject of interest and 
frequent discussion by investigating and lib- 
eral-minded members of the community 
where I resided. For the past fourteen years 
I have posed before the public as a spirit 
medium, and have given every phase of 
seances in all the large cities throughout the 
world, under many assumed names. During 
this time I have encountered many obstacles 
to overcome, and have been placed in some 
very trying and awkward situations. Prob- 
ably the most amusing of them all was one 
time when I was giving what is known as 
a Trumpet and Etherealization seance. On 
this occasion I received the severest shock 
that I had ever received. 

On this particular evening a reception had 
been tendered me, and after the luncheon 
was over we retired to the parlor and had 
quite a lengthy discussion on spiritualism, 
and after I had related some of my weird ex- 
periences it was suggested that I favor the 
guests with a seance. Knowing beforehand 
what would be expected of me, I had come 
prepared to do so. I then began to form my 



74 TRUTH AND FACTS 

circle by placing the chairs around the edge 
of the room. This room being very large 
and the guests only numbering about fifteen, 
I placed the chairs quite a ways apart. I 
then proceeded to put up my cabinet, and in 
doing so noticed a door leading into an ad- 
joining room. This door was right at the 
front of the cabinet, but knowing my sitters 
were all mossback Spiritualists, I did not 
fear any trickery on their part to 
expose me, and being perfectly at 
ease, I began giving them an ex- 
cellent seance, bringing many ethereal 
forms out into the room. This, of course, 
was very satisfactory, but realizing that a 
great many of them were expecting some test 
or message, my little cabinet control request- 
ed them to sing in order to make better con- 
ditions. This would, of course, give me a 
chance to think of some dope to give them, 
and during this singing there suddenly ap- 
peared in front of the cabinet a spirit, which 
I knew did not belong to any of my tribe of 
spooks. This was the only time in my life 
that I ever thought that I had seen a real 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 75 

spirit, and I can assure you that I certainly 
was scared, and I can also assure you that 
the sweetest voice I ever heard was when 
this little spirit began crying "Mamma, I'se 
afraid and can't go to sleep.'' It was all 
very plain to me then. This door beside the 
cabinet led into a bedroom, and as the lady 
of the house had put her little six-year-old 
boy to bed before I had arrived, I was not 
aware of the fact that there were any chil- 
dren in the house. Evidently the singing 
had aroused him, and being afraid, he got 
up and came into the seance room, and as 
everyone was singing at the time the noise 
he made in coming through the door was not 
noticed, and he certainly was the finest spirit 
that you would care to look upon, standing 
there clad only in his nightie, and if the sit- 
ters had only known how that child had 
made the cold chills run down my back they 
would have seen how amusing the incident 
really was, and as this had so unnerved me 
I had to inform my sitters that the 
forces had been broken and it would be im- 
possible to restore them and get proper con- 



76 TRUTH AND FACTS 

ditions again that night, and after assuring 
them that I would sit again some other even- 
ing, we brought the seance to an end, and 
after we had disbanded I hurriedly went to 
my hotel, and in order to quiet my nerves 
had quite a communion with the spirits — a 
good supply of which I always kept in bot- 
tles in my apartments. 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 77 



HOW THE AUTHOR GAVE A SEANCE 
UNDER A SEVERE TEST. 

Relating some of the obstacles that con- 
front a medium and how he or she must at 
all times be prepared to meet these difficul- 
ties and to be able to think and act quickly 
in order to avoid a possible detection or ex- 
pose : On this occasion I had been engaged 
to give a seance at a private residence. This 
seance proved to be highly entertaining and 
amusing; also very mystifying; so much so, 
in fact, that I was engaged to give another 
spook show, as they called it, upon the fol- 
lowing evening; and after I had put my cabi- 
net on this second evening and was about 
ready to give them another of my mystery 
shows, imagine my surprise when the gentle- 
man of the house informed me that he would 
like to speak to me in the other room. I fol- 
lowed him into the room and found all of the 
gentlemen of the party awaiting me there, 



78 TRUTH AND PACTS 

and as I entered, they formed a circle around 
me like a pack of Comanche Indians. One 
of them addressed me as: "Mr. Medium, 
you gave us a seance last night which proved 
highly interesting and mystifying, and we 
do not wish to condemn or say that it was 
performed through legerdemain or trickery ; 
but we would like to satisfy our curiosity by 
knowing the truth of how the manifestations 
were produced. We are all friends and have 
talked this matter over among ourselves, and 
while we do not wish to reflect on your hon- 
esty, we will give you twenty-five dollars 
extra if you will consent to go to my room 
and let us search you before giving this 
seance." I had to do some very quick and 
clever thinking, as I knew that I could not 
refuse their offer, as it would cast a suspicion 
on me and prove that I had the parapherna- 
lia on me that they were looking for; and I 
also knew that they were a determined set of 
men and could have searched me against my 
will of they so desired. Then again, I 
wanted that extra twenty-five dollars, as I 
knew of a certain tailor that could make 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 79 

good use of it, and not wishing to be bluffed 
in this stage of the game, as it would be very 
detrimental to me. One of the medium's 
best assets is to be able to cope with all dif- 
ficulties and obstacles of this manner. 
Hardly had the words left his mouth when I 
assured them that I would only be too 
pleased to comply with their request, and 
that after I had arranged my circle that I 
would be at their disposal. Let me assure 
the reader that I had enough spook material 
hidden about me to bring back all of the 
spirits in a country graveyard, besides rub- 
ber hose, black gloves, etc. After arranging 
my circle I realized that it was then time to 
act, so under the pretence of wetting the 
trumpet I excused myself and retired to the 
bath-room, and locking the door, I proceed- 
ed, by the aid of my knife, to cut my hose 
and other paraphernalia into shreds. I sent 
them out into the sewer, where they would 
be safe from these inquisitive gentlemen. I 
then complied with their wish, and 
was searched from head to foot. 
I then opened my seance with the 



80 TRUTH AND FACTS 

intention of not getting any results, 
and would claim that conditions were poor 
on account of the sitters not being in har- 
mony with the spirits, but realizing this 
would be very unsatisfactory, as the bath- 
room incident might have cast a suspicion 
on me, I then determined not to be outdone 
by them and to give them a seance regard- 
less of what had taken place. After keeping 
my sitters singing for some time, in order 
that I might be able to find some way to give 
them some manifestations, and after feeling 
through my pockets, found that I had only 
one handkerchief, and this being too small, 
I was in somewhat of a quandary what to 
do, but as the same rule of " Never give up, 
but try again," works in mediumship the 
same as everything else, I finally produced 
some very passable spirits, and using my 
hands for a mouthpiece, I also gave them a 
very fair trumpet seance, to the entire satis- 
faction of my sitters. Realizing the 
condition I had been placed in, and knowing 
that I had no spook material on me, they 
were highly pleased with the result, and 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 81 

offered all manner of apologies to me for 
their conduct. But I might say that there 
was a certain portion of my shirt missing 
after this seance, and it wasn't the front of 
it ; either; and it is needless to say that his 
shirt was never sent to the laundry again. 
This will disclose to the investigator how the 
medium must think and act quickly in order 
to outwit those that are always awaiting 
some opportunity to make an expose. 

On another occasion, while giving a Trum- 
pet seance in a certain city, and having 
about twenty-five sitters in the room, and as 
I was confident that all of them were dyed- 
in-the-wool Spiritualists, the seance was 
progressing very satisfactorily, when all of 
a sudden I could not make a sound through 
the trumpet, and thinking that some one 
was trying to play a trick on me, I began to 
investigate to see if I could find what the 
trouble was. Thinking some one had 
stopped the trumpet up, I reached into the 
big end of it, but was unable to find anything 
that was obstructing it as far as I could 
reach with my hand. This was a very trying 



82 TRUTH AND PACTS 

situation to be in, and I was in somewhat of 
a quandary what to do in order that I might 
be able to continue the seance. I, of course, 
accounted for the manifestations ceasing, 
claiming that the forces were very weak and 
that the conditions very poor; therefore, the 
spirits were unable to manifest. I kept my 
sitters singing in order to restore the lost 
conditions, and believe that they sang every 
song that a Methodist hymn book ever con- 
tained. This gave me sufficient time to try 
to determine the trouble, but the more I in- 
vestigated the less I found out, and as this 
seance was given in the dark, I was unable 
to see and had to depend upon feeling for 
the obstruction. I, of course, could have had 
The lights turned on, but realizing that if 
someone was playing a trick on me that I 
had better determine the trouble, if possible, 
I commenced to bang the trumpet around, 
hitting it upon the ceiling and the floor. I, 
of course, claimed this was done by one of 
my cabinet controls, a big Indian chief, who 
always went on a rampage when anything in 
the circle went wrong, and in doing this I 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 83 

heard something fall on the floor. I then 
found that the trumpet was clear again, and 
that I was able to talk through it. I felt 
somewhat elated to think that I had over- 
come the difficulty, but had no more than 
congratulated myself over it when some one 
of the sitters spoke to my little Indian girl 
control, asking her if she had got the nickel 
that he had thrown into the trumpet for her. 
I was quite unable to comprehend his motive 
in doing this, as spirits are not supposed to 
need any of the coin of the realm, and I was 
quite unable to solve his motive or theory of 
whether it was done with good intentions or 
not, but as this nickel had lodged in the 
trumpet, it had almost caused the spirits to 
lose their voices. To make the matter worse, 
when he inquired of my little Indian control 
if she had received the nickel, a lady in the 
circle remarked that she had heard it drop 
on the floor. Of course, my little control gave 
him a very nice talk about the spirit world 
and assuring him that while she appreciated 
his generosity, that she had no use for 
money, as everything in the spirit world 



84 TRUTH AND PACTS 

was free and that money was only for the 
earthly life, it being too material for over 
there. Imagine my surprise, then, when he 
requested her to find it and to place it in the 
big end of the trumpet and return it to him. 
This was like an old adage, "Out of the fry- 
ing pan into the fire." I had just stepped 
out of one difficulty and found I had jumped 
into another, as this meant that I should get 
down on the floor and find that nickel, if pos- 
sible. I, of course, started in to hunt for it 
right away, as I did not know how long it 
would take for me to find it. I crawled upon 
my hands and knees, feeling around over the 
floor, and it seemed as though I would never 
find it. If it had been a five-dollar gold 
piece and I had dropped it myself, I would 
not have spent as much time in trying to find 
it, as I did for that little measly five-cent 
piece ; but I could not let them know that the 
little spirit was unable to find it. I finally 
located it and returned it to the gentleman. 
This made him an ardent admirer of my lit- 
tle Indian control and brought me many dol- 
lars afterward, a fact that I highly appreci- 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 85 

ated after such a strenuous time in pleasing 
him. 

I also had a similar occurrence happen to 
me while giving a materializing seance. I 
had dropped my black glove upon the floor, 
and it seemed almost impossible for me to 
find it. I hunted for that little five-cent glove 
for almost an hour, for it was a matter of 
very great importance to me, for if the lights 
had been turned on and it had been discov- 
ered it would have been very difficult for me 
to explain its presence there. However, as 
perseverance always succeeds, I at last 
found it and saved many unnecessary ex- 
planations on my part. 

Mediums are constantly meeting with 
these obstacles, and it requires a great deal 
of tact upon the medium's part to give a 
satisfactory explanation to the sitters, for 
instance : I was giving a trumpet seance and 
some investigating skeptic threw lamp 
black into the trumpet. Of course, in draw- 
ing in my breath through the trumpet, this 
lamp black got into my mouth and onto 
my lips. I immediately detected it, but 



86 TRUTH AND FACTS 

it was impossible for me to get the black 
off of my lips, so I brought a Hindoo con- 
trol, and while he was trying to talk, I pre- 
tended to be very disgusted that he should 
come and manifest, as he always left me 
with black lips, as they used sandal wood 
to blacken their teeth with, and that he 
always brought these conditions with him. 
Of course, this would explain to the 
sitters why my lips were black after 
the light was turned on, and would be 
a very satisfactory explanation to a moss 
back Spiritualist. But there was one party 
in that circle that knew the truth. I guess 
that his curiosity was satisfied and do not 
believe the party ever related the exper- 
ience as I never heard anything of it after- 
wards. 

In order to show the reader how easy it 
is for a medium to dupe his sitters, and of 
course when the sitters also want to be 
duped, how any excuse that medium wishes 
to make will be accepted, — one time while 
giving a seance in a strange city and also 
among strangers and not having any infor- 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 87 

mation concerning my sitters, I was some- 
what at a loss what to do. I, of course, had 
my controls come and give them some very 
nice talks, but I realized they wished to re- 
ceive some test, and remembering that I 
had heard another medium relate an exper- 
ience very similar to this, I decided to adopt 
the method that he used and found it worked 
very satisfactorily. This was very simple, 
however, and I was so pleased with the re- 
sults that I thereafter adopted it when shy 
on dope. | It worked in this manner: All 
the medium has to do is to make whisper- 
ing sounds and it will sound like any name 
the sitter wishes to imagine. Some one of 
the sitters will say: "Is that you, Mary?" 
or some one else may ask if it is John, and 
it may be either one, just as the medium de- 
sires. During this same seance a rain storm 
came up and while I was standing upon a 
chair to reach the ceiling with the trumpet 
to carry the impression that the spirits were 
sliding the trumpet on the ceiling, there 
came a big flash of lightning, illuminating 
the entire room. I jumped off of the chair 



88 TEUTH AND FACTS 

the minute the flash came, and my sitters 
saw me in the air, and also heard me hit the 
floor. I hurriedly remarked that the spirits 
had floated me in the air and that it was 
the first time that I had ever had that ex- 
perience. After telling how marvelous it 
was, my control told the sitters that they 
would try this experiment at every circle. 
This excuse was readily accepted and a 
great many came every seance night in or- 
der to see if the spirits would be able to give 
this wonderful demonstration again, but as 
I was very careful not to give any more se- 
ances on stormy nights, their desires were 
not gratified, but as a medium's best secret 
is not to entirely satisfy the investigators, 
but to give them enough in order that they 
will come again to receive more, this, of 
course, enables the medium to gather in a 
great many more dollars, this being the only 
god that they worship. 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 89 



CLOSING REMARKS BY THE AUTHOR, 

The author wishes to apologize to the 
reader for any errors found in his works, 
and assures the reader that he has no liter- 
ary attainments or desires to gratify, and 
that his only object in writing this book is to 
satisfy the demand of those who are seeking 
the truth of Spiritualism, and in giving this 
expose to the public, he has endeavored to 
use plain, common, every day English, in 
order that it can be fully understood. The 
author has left no stone unturned in writing 
this book, and considers it to be a complete 
expose at the present time, although me- 
diums are a great deal like the stage ma- 
gician, as those who are original are con- 
stantly trying to create new phases of me- 
diumship or new tricks, in order to outdo 
their competitors, and also to meet the de- 
mands of the public, who are constantly 
wanting something new and different, as 



90 TRUTH AND FACTS 

they become tired of their old act or seance; 
therefore new phases of mediumship may 
spring up at any time. However, the author 
believes if the reader has a full knowledge 
of this book that any new phase can be 
readily solved, as these new phases as a rule 
are merely old ones worked over in such a 
manner as to hide their identity from the 
public. The secret of solving new tricks is 
an easy one and should the reader wish at 
any time to account for some of these mys- 
terious occurrences, all that is really nec- 
essary is to find the only possible way that 
they can be done and the problem is solved. 
For an example, one particular medium that 
was traveling through the United States 
created quite a sensation by claiming that he 
could free himself from any pair of regula- 
tion handcuffs made, and issued challenges 
to that effect. This seemed almost an im- 
possibility, and people advanced all kinds 
of theories of how this was done, some claim- 
ing that the bones in his hands were soft and 
that he could slip his hands through them. 
This theory, however, was soon abandoned 



PERTAINING TO SPIRITUALISM 91 

because the investigators found on some 
occasions that the handcuffs were un- 
locked. This seeming too big a mystery for 
them to solve, the investigation was dropped 
and they accepted it as a supernatural 
power, but as a matter of fact, it was so sim- 
ple that the}^ had never looked for the only 
way that it could be done. If they had, it 
would have been solved in this manner: 
First, it was absolutely necessary that the 
handcuffs be unlocked. How did he unlock 
them? Why, with keys, of course. How 
many keys does he require to do this trick? 
Why, only thirteen, as there are only thir- 
teen pairs of regulation handcuffs made, and 
did you note that his challenge read " Regu- 
lation Handcuffs ' ' % Now, isn 't this simple % 
Yet, it is just as hard as any of the other 
tricks that are performed although some 
require a great deal of paraphernalia to per- 
form, and this paraphernalia can be bought 
of Charles De Yoe & Co, New York, who will 
furnish all mediums with aluminous paint 
and all other spook material necessary to 
dupe the public with. 



92 TRUTH AND FACTS 

In these closing remarks the author hopes 
that this book has answered its purpose in 
showing the scull dugery that is being prac- 
ticed throughout the world, and that it will 
be the means of saving thousands of dollars 
to the investigating public and that it will re- 
store much happiness to those that have 
been in doubt. If it accomplishes this, the 
author will feel that his work has not been 
in vain. 

—The End— 



OCT § 1351 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 



OCT $ ISIi 



